Blackfeather Woods into the living sea of waking dreams,

maegi had aged in the time her brothers and father had been gone; relmyna saw clearly the child still bore the soft lines and silken fur of youth, but the two-colored stare the little spider now carried was grim, searching. relmyna's tattered ears swept to hear what maegi was saying, and quickly she shook her scarred muzzle, emphatic in her disagreement.
the evoker's eyes were warm with affection as she searched for the child's gaze, seeking to impress silently on the somber pup that she had done no wrong; this thing upon her neck was beyond her doing. the gods knew maegi was pious, even in her father's disappearance and potema's unwarranted hatred. the young melonii had not erred from her path, so far as relmyna could see.
the frown that followed the wolfess' revelation surprised relmyna only for a moment. she shook her head with a small smile. lifting a forepaw, the evoker placed it upon the slight rise of her own belly, glancing toward maegi as she did so. after a heartbeat of time, the patchwork woman motioned the spiderling closer, inviting maegi to do the same if she wished.